Question on Calories

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JennBunbun
JennBunbun Posts: 21
in Food and Nutrition
I want to lose 20 pounds. I am 152 and 5ft 2. It says that I need to eat 1530, but I feel like that may be a lot for what I want to lose. But I want to do it the healthy way of course. It seems everyone has these sucess stories of losing 10lbs in a month, or whichever. And I just dont know if I will be able to achieve this....

Replies

  • kao708
    kao708 Posts: 813 Member
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    What did you set your daily activity level at? If you have a job that keeps you on your feet or moving most of the time, you need more daily calories to keep you from going into starvation mode.

    If you've just started the program I would follow what the site suggests for a couple weeks before you try to make any manual adjustments. It may take some trial and error to get where you need to be. Good luck!
  • sweebum
    sweebum Posts: 1,060 Member
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    Do you exercise a lot? That's about the only way your calories would be that level.

    The lowest to go is 1200 calories. 2 lbs a week is about as much as you should lose. Usually the slower you lose it, the easier it is to keep off :smile:
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    1530 seems quite high, unless you have your self as active or very active for your activity level. Activity level should ignore any exercise you do. So if you have a desk job but exercise for 2 hours a day, your activity level should be Sedentary as you should not count your exercise until you enter it for the day.
  • elid
    elid Posts: 209 Member
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    It seems everyone has these sucess stories of losing 10lbs in a month, or whichever.

    That is definitely not true; most people do not see that kind of success. Plus, losing 10lbs a month is only really healthy if you're starting out at a very heavy weight in the first place. With only 20 lbs to lose, 10 lbs a month is very unhealthy. I recommend you shoot for 2lbs a week at most, but 1/2 to 1 lb a week would be more realistic and sustainable at your weight.
  • aunienue
    aunienue Posts: 416
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    I am 5'2" and have my activity at sedentary...MFP assigned me 1200 cals to lose, 1400 cals to maintain.

    Hope this helps
  • JennBunbun
    JennBunbun Posts: 21
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    I put myself as active because I workout at least 30min-60min and even 2 hours if I miss a day. I hate a day without exercise I feel like a lazy bum. But I'm sure that calorie intake is just making up for my activity. But do I need to workout more to actually lose??
  • elid
    elid Posts: 209 Member
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    I put myself as active because I workout at least 30min-60min and even 2 hours if I miss a day.

    Your activity level shouldn't include your exercise if you're going to be tracking your exercise as well. Your activity level should only include your everyday activity. That said, if you don't count your exercise, that's probably fine; you just don't want to be double-counting exercise, is all.
    But do I need to workout more to actually lose??

    Not necessarily. To lose weight, you need to take in fewer calories than you expend. Most people find it easier to eat less than to exercise a ton more, but your mileage may vary.

    To find out a rough estimate of how many calories you expend in a day, you can go to the "Tools" tab and go to the BMR calculator. The number you get is an estimate of how many calories it takes you to stay alive (basic things like breathing, heart pumping; basically it's the bottom number of calories needed to keep you alive). This of course doesn't include exercise or daily activity, but it's a good starting number. I'd recommend trying not to eat too far below your BMR calories.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    I put myself as active because I workout at least 30min-60min and even 2 hours if I miss a day. I hate a day without exercise I feel like a lazy bum. But I'm sure that calorie intake is just making up for my activity. But do I need to workout more to actually lose??

    You should change your activity level to a lower amount, you are not supposed to take into account your exercise at the point of setting this. You will get extra calories from exercising when you enter the exercise in the database but should not be included as part of your activity level. i.e. I workout 5 days a week but since I have a desk job I put in Sedentary and when I exercise I log it at that time.
  • JennBunbun
    JennBunbun Posts: 21
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    Ohh okay. Well why would they ask activity level outside of working out? haha I don't do much if I'm not working out. I am unemployed and am surrounded by 6 feet of snow. When they asked my activity level I assumed they meant the activty that I do daily. No wonder this was so easy, I was pretty much eating the same, sheesh!!!
  • elid
    elid Posts: 209 Member
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    .
  • JennBunbun
    JennBunbun Posts: 21
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    Yes, I understand the dynamics of the website. That slight misunderstanding is why I was confused. Thanks
  • JennBunbun
    JennBunbun Posts: 21
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    now it says 1250cal! Thank makes more sense, thanks people!!
  • goodkandi
    goodkandi Posts: 1
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    Hello,

    I work with a trainer and for my weight which is now 205 i'm on a 1400 calorie diet because of the goal I want to reach. I would suggest bringing it down to about 13 or 1400 and make sure that when you work out you incorporate muscle strengthening and stretching. My trainer says alot of people fail to realize that you can't lose weight the way you want if you don't stretch everyday for at least 10 min.

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